We run MP3Gain on all new music that gets added to our digital audio library — and if you want consistent levels of volume, so should you.

liteRecorder is a worthwhile purchase only for those who value ease of use and quality of capture over, well, value. But at $14, it's hardly bank-breaking.

JamTrax is clearly aimed at kids and those wanting some good, but basic music-making software. It's an easy way to waste a few hours and have a bit of fun. It's very easy to use and may even work as a gateway to other more complex music programs, if you get the composer's bug.

The main advantages this application offers is that it's cheap and simple, but are almost lost in frustration of getting it to work. Assuming the patches will sort out the bugs, this could be a great option for heavy mobile users with an ever evolving desire for new ringtones, but be aware of the potential frustration.

Magic GarageBand is the flashiest, but certainly not the richest new feature in GarageBand '08. Multi-take recording, arrangements, expanded effects, and automation make this version a more capable tool for musicians. While we found little kinks in some of these features, overall they're quite useful. Though not specifically intended for podcasters, those producing podcasts benefit from such new GarageBand features as enhanced and expanded effects and automation.

ACID Music Studio allows anyone, from amateur musicians, podcasters or professional audio producers to easily create great sounding audio tracks.

Thank heavens for the tutorial system, as Audio Studio is a tough program to get into, especially if you’re one of the comparative novices at which it’s aimed. But persevere and you’ll see that this program has a strong feature set for the money.

It's refreshing not to have to pay top whack for audio-editing software. With Sony Sound Forge 9.0's range of tools you can produce decent results on a budget.

For new users, Roxio Creator 2009 is a good deal. Roxio Creator 2009 is a massive installation (3GB of disk space is required) and a bit slow to switch between modules, but the look and the feel of the content it produces are excellent. If you already have Roxio Media Creator, take a close look to see whether Creator 2009 offers anything you urgently need. If not, wait for the next iteration.

Cinescore is impressive for a first attempt, and provides commercial videographers with high-quality licence-free scores, plus a level of control and customisation previously unavailable. But it can be frustrating to use, and would be far more effective as a plug-in for a video editing package rather than a standalone tool.

Adobe Audition 2.0 is highly recommended for people looking for audio tools that are powerful yet fairly intuitive too.